All that is Solid … is a radical blog that seeks to promote a future beyond capital's social universe. "All that is solid melts into air" (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 'The Communist Manifesto', 1848).

ANARCHISTS, MARXISTS, AND NATIONALISTS IN THE COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL WORLD, 1870s-1940s: ANTAGONISMS, SOLIDARITIES, AND SYNTHESES

CALL FOR PAPERS

EUROPEAN SOCIAL SCIENCE HISTORY CONFERENCE (ESSHC) 2013

From its inception in the First International, the anarchist and syndicalist movement played a significant role in the colonial and post-colonial world as an influential force in revolutionary, national liberation, and anti-imperialist movements. While this role has received increasing attention in a growing scholarship, the literature remains underdeveloped and rather limited. The intersections between anarchism and syndicalism, and other Left oppositional currents, including Marxist and nationalist movements, are understudied and lack systematic examination especially with respect to the global South. Such intersections provide an important index of anarchist and syndicalist influence by drawing attention to their role in larger coalitions as well as their imprint on other movements and ideologies; conversely, to properly understand the history of other Left and labor currents it is necessary to take into account their interactions with anarchism and syndicalism. These interactions assumed a wide range of forms: although historical antagonisms between anarchism and Marxism often shaped their relations, there were also many instances of solidarity and collaboration; while anarchism generally opposed nationalism in principle, it cooperated with a surprising number of nationalist movements; finally, anarchism and syndicalism contributed key elements to a broad spectrum of oppositional currents that reflected syncretic ideologies, organizational forms, and practices.

We invite papers that examine examples of antagonisms, solidarities, and syntheses between anarchism and syndicalism on one hand, and Marxist and nationalist currents on the other. The papers should address historical movements, rather than intellectual history, narrowly conceived; they should analyze intersections, not parallels or apparent similarities between different currents; and explore the complex relations and overlaps between anarchist, Marxist, and nationalist movements. Case studies should focus on the colonial and post-colonial world (Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean).